Topography of Inwangsan Mountain

Inwangsan is a rocky mountain with only one main hiking trail alongside Seoul City Wall on its ridges, ascending from one side of the mountain, passing through the summit (338.2m) and descending to the other side.

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Seoul City Wall & its History

As hiking on Inwangsan Mountain is primarily along Seoul City Wall, it is good to know some background information on this historic city wall.

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Hanyangdoseong (Seoul City Wall) of 18.6km long is designated as Historic Site No. 10. It was originally built in 1396, surrounding Hanyang (Seoul) to defend the capital during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897).

Besides Inwangsan, Seoul City Wall also passes 3 other main mountains, namely Bugaksan, Naksan and Namsan.

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💡The section of Seoul City Wall along Inwangsan Mt. (Inwangsan Mountain Trail) has been rebuilt and now appears fairly 'new'.

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The Once Off-Limits Inwangsan Mountain

Access to Inwangsan Mountain was prohibited after a unit of the North Korean Special Forces infiltrated Cheongwadae (Blue House), the Presidential Office and Residence on 21 January 1968.

Unique Hiking Experience at Inwangsan Mt.

Hiking at Inwangsan Mountain is unlike other mountains in Seoul with many hiking trails weaving through the forest, valley or rivers to the open peak.

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a) Unobstructed View of Seoul's Mountains

Due to its granite rocky ridges, Inwangsan Mountain hiking trail provides unprecedented unblocked views of Ansan Mountain on one side and Bukhansan Mountain, Bugaksan Mountain and Namsan Mountain on the other side.

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Bukhansan Mountain

Bugaksan Mountain

Ansan Mountain

Namsan Mountain & N Seoul Tower

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b) View of Seoul's Key Attractions

Cheongwadae (Blue House) and Gyeongbokgung Palace can be seen from the Seoul City Wall as well.

Inwangsan Mountain is located across two districts of Seodaemun-gu and Jongno-gu in Seoul. Tourism information of Inwangsan Mountain and access are primarily covered by Jongno-gu Office.

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Nonetheless, Seodaemun-gu has the advantage of 3 nearby subway stations along subway line 3 (Dongnimmun, Muakjae and Hongje Stations) with interesting forest trails leading to various sections of Inwangsan Mountain and its summit. There is even a bridge, Muakjae Sky-Bridge that directly connects Inwangsan Mountain to Ansan Mountain across the road, allowing nature lovers to experience the beauty of 2 mountains easily.

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The walk from Jongno-gu's nearest subway stations, Gyeongbokgung Station (line 3) and Seodaemun Station (line 5) takes double the walking time to reach Inwangsan Mountain compared to Seodaemun-gu's subway stations.

The full hiking course through Inwangsan Mountain starts across the road from the 7-Eleven Convenience Store next to Korea Social Science Library 한국 사회 과학 도서관, passing through its Summit and ending at Changuimun Gate in Buam-dong. The course is about 3.1km long and takes about 2hrs 15mins.

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💡It is not recommended to walk the section between 7-Eleven convenience store and Donuimun Gate as a large part of the wall and the gate are no longer standing.

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Orientation on hiking from nearest subway stations:

Base of the mountain: Dongnimmun Station, Gyeongbokgung Station & Seodaemun Station

Near summit: Muakjae Station

Past summit: Hongje Station

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Changuimun Gate

Inwangsan Peak

7-Eleven Entrance

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Entry & Exit Points to Inwangsan

If you are not doing the Full Inwangsan Hiking Course alongside Seoul City Wall, deciding where to enter and exit Inwangsan Mountain can be a difficult decision as there are quite a number of fabulous entry and exit points and each have their own attractiveness, ease of accessibility and fitness level requirements.

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Nonetheless, it is good to know your options for your initial route planning. Also, you may come across direction signs to these places during your hike which will be handy in case you wish for any impromptu detour.

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💡Not often, however, if you come across any Korean only sign, you can use Google Translateapp by pointing your phone at the Korean signage🤳 and use the camera feature on the app for instant language translation.

Rest Area

Gaon Bridge 가온다리

Suseongdong Valley 수성동 계곡

Pavilion, Suseongdong Valley

From Gyeongbokgung Station (exit 3), walk straight (140m) to the 2nd bus stop (near 7-Eleven). Take bus #1020/#7022/#7212 and alight at Jahamun Gogae / Yun Dong-ju Literary Museum stop, 7 mins. This is also the bus stop for Seoul City Wall (Changuimun Gate).

To get to Inwangsan Mountain, cross the road directly to Yung Dong-ju Literary Museum and walk 150m along the road (i.e. Jahamun-ro 35-gil) of gentle slope in front of the museum to Cheongun Park's entrance. There will be signs to Inwangsan Trails.

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Yun Dong-ju Literary Museum

Yun Dong-ju Literary Museum

Changuimun Gate

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Exit:

In fact, this is a popular exit point for hikers from Inwangsan Mountain, Inwangwan Jarak-gil Trail and Forest Trail. There are signs on the trails that leads to this exit as well.

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Upon exiting to the main road (i.e. Jahamun-ro), your options include:

Take bus #1020/#7022/#7212 on the same side of the road to the nearest subway station (i.e. Gyeongbokgung Station).

Jaha Son Mandu - Dumplings

Sanmotoonge at Buamdong - Cafe

Sanmotoonge at Buamdong - View

Again, another long walk from the nearest subway station of Jongno-gu District to Inwangsan Mountain.

Alternatively, you can take bus #05 from Seodaemun Station (exit 3) and alight at Korea Social Science Archive 한국사회과학자료원 stop, 9 mins. The bus stop is next to 7-Eleven convenience store and Inwangsan Park Entrance is just across the road.

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Inwangan Mountain, with its close proximity to the Seoul city center, ease of accessibility, multiple interesting entry/exit trails, fantastic day and night views, is certainly worth coming back over several trips to explore alone or with your family and hiking buddies.

Map of Inwangsan Mountain Trail

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